Every week Geoff Boycott updates his site with fresh views on the world of cricket. Don't miss it.

End of an era for Australia

Posted on | December 10, 2009 | 5 Comments

I’ve always believed that batsmen put you in a position to win Test matches but it’s the bowlers who seal victory and watching over the last few years it’s quite obvious that Australia without Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath are finding it harder to win.

Australian players have all the attributes you look for in a team, commitment, ambition and drive, all qualities you need to see, and they have the characteristics I’ve always admired and respected. Their fielding is still top draw and with their powerful batting they can still put opponents under pressure but it’s obvious that without bowlers who can take wickets cheaply it’s not so easy to win.

Warne with 708 wickets at 25.41 and McGrath with 563 at 21.64 were priceless and their strike rates of 57.4 and 51.9 respectively were invaluable. I accept that in the modern game where most Tests finish inside five days that strike rates are not quite so important but they are still a big factor.

Australia currently have good bowlers but they’re no better than any others around the world so winning is not so easy. The Warne-McGrath era was very special and the Aussies were supremely confident of sweeping all before them; they expected to win and usually did becoming the unofficial world Test champions and winning three World Cups.

But now they are no longer invincible. They won in India then were beaten at home by South Africa only to go and win the rubber on the Proteas’ home turf and follow that by losing in England. It really is topsy turvy and quite painful for the Aussie spectators who have been used to being top dogs for the last 20 years. If England win back to back series for only the fourth time since the second world war next winter it would be like a dagger in the heart. The Australian public are witnessing the end of an era and they’d better get used to not being all-conquering because I can’t see them being dominant again in the near future. Their bowling is no better than anybody else’s. Look what happened to the West Indies after their two decades of dominance with great fast bowlers and superb batsmen. It all went downhill and they slid into the doldrums.

Of all the current Test teams you can’t pick the winners with any certainty and that makes for absorbing cricket which should capture the imagination of the public. But it’s not happening. Of the three current rubbers, New Zealand and Pakistan are engaged in a see-saw series, India played great cricket and walloped Sri Lanka and the West Indies, well beaten in the first Test at Brisbane came back and put up a great fight in Adelaide.

The players are producing entertaining, fascinating cricket which should mean that people want to watch. But look at the crowds, they’re poor. If Test cricket is going to survive, the biggest problem is putting bums on seats.

The exceptions are the Ashes series which play to full houses because of the history and tradition and Tests in England where people will happily pay £95 at Lord’s and £105 at The Oval for a single day’s play!

Television has taken over, paying huge sums of cash and the administrators are happy because it’s easy money. But for the cricket watcher it’s like waiting for a bus; if you miss one there’ll be another along in ten minutes. There’s still great interest in the game around the world through newspapers, radio, TV and the internet but people are not coming to grounds in the numbers they once did and that’s killing the game.

Administrators think the more TV money the better and it’s short-sighted and counter productive. There are simply too many matches so Tests, once great occasions, are not special any more.

Category: Uncategorized
Tags: > >

Comments

5 Responses to “End of an era for Australia”

  1. yash
    December 10th, 2009 @ 6:03 pm

    Mr. Boycott,
    Nice article, loved reading it.
    However your statement about Australia winning in India before being beaten by SAF on their home turf is wrong. The Aussies were beaten by India 2-0 in Oct-Nov 2008 series, after which India regained the Border-Gavaskar trophy. That series was the last test match series for Anil Kumble & your Prince of Kolkatta, Sourav Ganguly, who both gracefully retired.

    Yash

  2. Iranna
    December 11th, 2009 @ 8:52 am

    Mr.Geoffrey Boycott,

    i read your comment about SEHWAG on cricinfo

    you said sehwag cant get 300 on moving tracks so he is modern day great on batting picthes…

    how many players got 300 on moving picthes like newzealand and england to become great..

    whole world says that dravid, tendulkar,gavaskar they are great batsmans,did they got 300 on moving picthes to become great…

    why sehwag needs to get 300 on moving picthes to become great …when all the players like dravid,gavaskar,tendulkar needs to get just 100 to become great….is that not unfair on sehwag to say that get 300 on moving piches to become great.. if others in the history considered great just by getting 100s on moving piches….

    sehwag got runs in south africa,australia,newzealand,england….
    he got his 1st 100 in test matchs in south africa, he got is first 100 as an opener in england moving conditions,

    I think you know about these things, but still your talking thes rubbis means..

    i think you have more than oNe name in the fathers name column of your school marksheet.

    i think you also know this but still

  3. Iranna
    December 11th, 2009 @ 9:02 am

    MR GEOFERRERY

    SEHWAG GOT HIS 100S ALL OVER THE WORLD

    DO YOU KNOW HIS 201 NOT OUT AGAINST SRILANKA IN GALEE , THAT IS TURNING TRACK,WHOLE TEAM GOT OUT BY JUST GETTING 100+, SEHWAG ALONE GOT RUNS IN THAT PICTH ,IF IT IS FALT WHY OTHERS NOT SCORED,

    DO YOU REMEMBER INDIA VS NEWZEALAND SERIES IN NEWZEALAND IN 2002-2003,,,,SEHWG IS THE ONLY BATSMAN TO GET 2 100S,,WHOLE TEAM GOT OUT FOR 220 SEHWAG GOT 100 IN IT,

    YOU ARE SAYING HE CANT PLAY IN NEWZEALND..IF U DONT KNOW GO AND SEE STATS..

    I THINK NOW U R OVER 70 OR 80 , JUST SIT IN THE HOME LIKE WOMEN DONT COME AND SAY THESE RUBBIS…..IF YOU ARE NOT IMPOTENT THEN CALL ME 9590459881, IF YOU GUTS THEN CALL ME….

  4. Hari
    December 11th, 2009 @ 4:28 pm

    Iranna…

    Superb reply…..Fantastic reply…..

  5. Arpan
    December 11th, 2009 @ 4:30 pm

    “But now they are no longer invincible. They won in India then were beaten at home by South Africa…”

    Excuse me!Please.

Leave a Reply





Spam Protection by WP-SpamFree